


Shade Trees and Tide Pools

by Figgyfan14



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anbu Hatake Kakashi, Anbu Tenzou, Everyone lives, F/F, F/M, Flirting, I just want to write shenanigans, Iruka and Shisui grew up in Uzushio, Kissing, M/M, Rating May Change, Team Minato - Freeform, Uzukage!Kushina, Uzushio lives, casual affection, seal master iruka
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:33:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22707796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Figgyfan14/pseuds/Figgyfan14
Summary: Team Kushina, the Uzukage’s own genin, are ready for the Chuunin Exams, held in Konoha. She’s thrilled, really, but how does one keep Umino Iruka, Uchiha Shisui, and Uzumaki Tora from burning the whole village to the ground?By leaving them in the capable hands of two ANBU guards and Team Minato, of course.What could go wrong?
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka, Namikaze Minato/Uzumaki Kushina, Nohara Rin/OFC, Uchiha Obito/Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Shisui/Yamato | Tenzou
Comments: 14
Kudos: 89





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story will be mostly Shenanigans. Like, all ANBU and shenanigans and physical affection, both platonic and romantic. Don’t be fooled, the Chuunin Exams are just the plot device by which all of this will come about!
> 
> I hate myself for starting to write another thing. I really do. But it won’t leave me alone, and I have half of chapter 2 written already as well, so just be prepared for shenanigans.
> 
> Enjoy!

He first saw the silver-haired boy in the dog mask standing two steps behind the Hokage.

Kushina-sensei was talking to Minato-sama at the gates of Konoha. They hugged when they greeted each other, blue eyes sparkling in excitement, and Iruka couldn’t help but beam as the two Kage talked. Kushina was always so excited to go to Konoha, to see the man she loved, and it made his heart swell to finally be able to see her here.

He knew she would stay here if she could, but she was a Jinchuuriki and the Uzukage.

He didn’t feel guilty for being glad she wouldn’t leave, but he knew he should. He really loved his sensei, though.

Iruka looked away as the Kage chatted with each other, elbowing Shisui and flicking his eyes to the ANBU that stood behind Minato when he got the Uchiha’s attention. “Do you think that’s the Hatake prodigy we’ve heard about?” He whispered to his teammate, taking in the small build that suggested he was young as well as the shock of silver hair above what was undoubtedly a dog mask.

Shisui glanced in the direction he’d suggested, then squinted. “Isn’t he supposed to be older? He looks kinda small,” he mused, reaching up to playfully pull on Iruka’s ponytail.

He got his hand smacked for it, and Iruka smirked at the yelp he let out. “The White Fang wasn’t exactly a big guy either. Your dad was taller than him, wasn’t he?”  


Shisui was quick to smile again, and it would surely look genuine to anyone who wasn’t as familiar with him as his teammates. “Well, I think so. I was pretty young when he visited,” he deflected. They both knew he had a photographic memory, but thinking about Kagami, now dead, wasn’t pleasant.

Iruka caught the hand he’d slapped and gave it a squeeze, returning his smile with a genuine one. “Of course. Well, at least we won’t have to worry about going up against him. I wonder who we’ll be fighting in the exams.”

The third member of their team finally spoke up, leaning forward to throw her arms around both their shoulders. “I heard the young prodigy Uchiha Itachi is going to be participating in this exam,” Uzumaki Tora chimed in, leaning into them.

Shisui’s smile turned genuine in a flash, letting himself be pulled into the hug. Iruka was glad he’d broken out of his shell since they started training together. “Oh, I can’t wait to thrash my cousin! I can’t believe Konoha still lets such young ninja try for chuunin, though. It’s a bit weird outside wartime isn’t it?”

Iruka broke his hold on Shisui’s hand just long enough to wrap his arm around Tora and catch it again at her back, shifting to bring his other arm around Shisui’s waist. The new position had them in a huddle, their foreheads together as they shared air and hid their smiling faces from outsiders. “It’s probably just because he’s an Uchiha. Kushina-sensei always complains about Minato letting the Uchiha push him around. I bet Fugaku was an ass until he agreed to let him.”

He wasn’t a very quiet person, and Kushina was suddenly bearing down on them, pulling Iruka out of the huddle by the back of his shirt. She was smiling with teeth, a threat hidden in her grin as she lifted him fully off his feet like a kitten caught by his scruff. “Umino Iruka, if you are going to talk like that, you had best be aware of your surroundings!” 

Her tone was too sweet, making Iruka cringe as he was manhandled. “Sorry, sensei! I’ll do better next time! You won’t hear me again!” He assured, knowing that it wasn’t the words themselves she had an issue with, but the fact that she had overheard them.

He really needed to work on not projecting his voice so much.

The silver-haired ANBU let out a snort, startling the 4 Uzushio shinobi and getting a wide-eyed look from his own Kage as well. Everyone stared, even the ANBU next to him with the cat mask, and he went even more still than he’d been before.

Minato looked back at the team of genin, tipping his head to the side like he was studying them, and Iruka fought to keep himself still in Kushina’s grip. The Uzukage surprised him by setting him back on his feet, though, her smile no longer a threat when he looked up. “Well, looks like it’s time to head in so we can stop embarrassing our villages, huh?”

Villages. Plural. So, that had really happened. He’d been unsure for a moment.

Tora was the one to agree, pushing her shoulder-length red hair behind her ears before she took her teammates hands and swung them happily. “Yes, Kushina-sensei. Will you have time to get food with us before official business draws you away? I want to know what the best ramen stand in Konoha is!” Her eyes slid to Minato when she said official business, and her smile widened as their sensei went red.

Official Business blinked at them, his face schooled into a polite smile.

Shisui laughed like he couldn’t help it, the sound bright, and Iruka found himself grinning just as widely as Tora. He loved his team. Kushina rolled her eyes at them, but she nodded her agreement. “Okay, I’ll have lunch with you. And I’ll even treat you to Ichiraku, but then I do have paperwork to handle! I think you can handle an evening in Konoha by yourselves, right? You’ll have your ANBU guard, so even you can stay out of trouble.”

She tapped them each on the nose, starting with Tora and ending on Iruka. From least trouble-making to most. It was a not-so-subtle warning, and they all nodded. “We’ll be on our best behavior,” Iruka agreed.

She didn’t look impressed with his deception, raising an eyebrow before patting him on the head. “Alright.” She turned to the Hokage and the two ANBU. “Would you like to join us for ramen, Minato-san?”

The three genin exchanged glances, but they kept their smiles in place as the Hokage’s own smile brightened and he quickly agreed. They entered Konoha for the first time with Minato and Kushina in front of them, and two ANBU behind them. It was going to be an interesting day, Iruka could already tell.

^~^

Kakashi watched the easy camaraderie between the Uzushio nin with interest. He easily recognized the Uchiha as being the genius Shunshin no Shisui, and the Uzumaki girl looked so much like her sister that she couldn’t be mistaken for anyone but Tora. The unknown factor was the boy the Uzukage called Umino Iruka.

Last time she’d been in Konoha, Kushina had been all too happy to tell Minato about her team of genin, the little genius that was even better with seals than she was, the Uchiha that was their former ambassador’s son, and her own younger sister. She’d gone on about all the pranks they pulled as if it was something she was proud of, and Minato had admired the ingenuity of some of them. Apparently, they were known to even catch Uzushio ANBU on occasion.

Kakashi had been resigned to hear that Minato wanted him and Tenzou to watch the troublemakers when they came for the Chuunin Exams. He was a glorified babysitter, designated as such for a month, and he bemoaned his very existence to Obito and Rin as soon as he’d been told. What had he done to deserve this?

Obito, of course, had been excited at the prospect of meeting the only cousin who lived in another village, and Rin had punched him in the arm and told him to suck it up. He almost missed the days when she had a crush on him, but then Obito spun him into a kiss and begged to be told where they were staying so he could meet them, and… well, he didn’t actually miss how awkward things were back then.

Actually seeing the team interacting with their sensei was something else, though.

As soon as they’d come through the transport seal at the east gate, they’d been beaming and joking and touching each other. He watched the Uchiha, from a clan that was usually considered to be cold and distant, hold hands with and even hug both his team mates within the first 5 minutes of being there.

They were laughing at each other, huddled close, when the brunette that had to be the seal-master blurted out, “I bet Fugaku was an ass until he agreed to let him.” He’d been clearly talking about something before that, but the sentence stuck out.

It stuck out even more when Kushina whirled around and grabbed him by the scruff to scold him. He really couldn’t help but snort back a laugh when Umino apologized, not for the insult, but for saying it so loudly. It was so like something Obito would do when being scolded for his tricks by Minato, and it caught him off guard.

As soon as he realized the sound had been heard, he froze, not even daring to breathe while he was stared at by not only the unfamiliar shinobi but also Minato and Tenzou.  _ Stupid Hatake, keep it together. This is a mission, _ he told himself.

Fortunately, Kushina distracted his sensei with the promise of ramen and her company, and Kakashi had never been more glad to lose the older man’s attention. He needed to compose himself, to focus. No matter how much these kids reminded him of his teammates, he was their guard for a reason. And that reason was that they were prone to causing trouble. He had to focus.

Neko brushed against him, just a bump of his shoulder, and it worked to center him. Tenzou had always been good at that, and Kakashi would have shot him a grateful look if it weren’t impossible in their masks. Kakashi pushed his own thoughts back, focusing on the mission, and became Inu.

^~^

Shisui was nervous.

It was his first time in Konoha, the place where his family originated, and he knew his palm was sweating as Iruka threaded their fingers together on their way to the ramen stand. He would be forever grateful to have a team that didn’t shy away from his touches, that was just as tactile in their comfort as he was.

Tora and Iruka walked on either side of him, holding his hands and brushing against him as they walked. He’d confessed his nervousness just the night before, and they’d slept in a pile of limbs in Kushina’s guest room, something that wasn’t all that uncommon among the orphans. That room was basically theirs.

Shisui let his mind drift back as he was led through the village by his team.

_ Kushina told them just that morning that they were being nominated for the Chuunin Exams. It was being held in Konoha, she told them, and it would be their first time taking the teleportation seal to their closest ally. _

_ They spent all morning out in the town, buying supplies they would need and letting Iruka seal it all away neatly. Tora got them all matching Uzushio-blue ribbons, and tied them on each of them in a different place. Hers was worn as a choker. Iruka’s was tied in his hair. Shisui’s went around his wrist. _

_ He could feel the chakra threaded into them, a seal that could be activated to send out a signal to the others. It was comforting to know. _

_ By the evening, they were packed up, and Shisui knew he was being too quiet, he could tell his team was worried about him. He just wasn’t sure how to bring it up without sounding whiny. _

_ He didn’t have to, though. His team knew him. Tora was the one to take his hand after dinner, excusing them from Kushina’s table and pulling him upstairs. Iruka was the one to pull him into bed, ignoring his protests and wrapping him in blankets and comfort. _

_ They both held him as he spilled his guts about how much he missed his father and how worried he was to see the family he’d never known, growing up the child of an ambassador. _

_ Shisui didn’t cry. He was a shinobi. The only time he cried since he was a kid was when his Mangekyō activated, at the brutal death of his father. _

_ That didn’t make it any less embarrassing that he hyperventilated and shook while sandwiched between his teammates. _

Iruka squeezed his hand and brought him out of his head as they arrived at the quaint little ramen booth called Ichiraku’s.

A ball of energy with spiky black hair accosted them as they arrived. “Sensei! Sensei! Is this the Kushina-sama you talk about all the time? Oh! Are these her genin? Oh my GODS, the Uchiha! You’re Shisui, right? I’m Obito! Uchiha Obito! It’s nice to meet you! Are you here to have ramen too? This place is-” the boy was cut off by Minato laying a firm hand on his shoulder, jumping and going wide-eyed.

He’d grabbed onto Shisui’s shoulders as soon as he recognized him, and had been getting alarming close to his face, but the Hokage pulled him back, his smile still present but exasperated.

Minato had a wonderful, deep voice as he spoke. He sounded like power itself, and suddenly it wasn’t such a mystery how he’d captivated their sensei. “Obito, you’re not being polite. You’re a foreign shinobi, even if you are his cousin, and he could have reacted poorly to being touched,” he chided gently.

He might as well have yelled it for the effect it had on his strange cousin, though, and Shisui found himself wondering if maybe his father had been wrong about the Uchiha of Konoha when tears sprung to those black eyes.

A bright-eyed brunette stepped out of the ramen stand, looking just as exasperated as Minato, and pulled Obito into a hug as he started to sniffle. “Kakashi’s going to call you a crybaby when he gets home, Obito. It’s okay, Sensei isn’t mad. He doesn’t want you to make a bad impression with your cousin.” She whispered the words so softly that it was unlikely anyone else could hear them, right against the Uchiha’s ear, but Shisui read her lips easily.

The interaction was surreal, and Shisui found himself actually letting go of Tora’s hand to reach out and brush just his fingertips against Obito’s arm where it had wrapped around the girl comforting him. “Uh…” Shit, he was talking? When did that happen? “I don’t mind. I’m okay.” Shit  _ shit  _ **_shit_ ** -

Everyone was staring. Iruka was looking at him with a raised eyebrow, Tora was grinning as widely as her older sister, even the Hokage of Konoha was looking at him, surprised.

He smiled, and he was surprised he didn’t have to force it as much as he expected. “You’re my cousin, then? Obito? It’s nice to meet you.”

Apparently, it was the right thing to say, because a switch seemed to flip in the teary-eyed boy and he was suddenly being hugged so hard his ribs hurt. “It’s so nice to meet you too, Shisui! I’m so glad I didn’t upset you!” The words were blubbered, and it somehow seemed that his tears fell even faster, but he was smiling so brightly when he pulled back from the hug.

This was not at all what he expected from a Konoha shinobi, especially an Uchiha, and one of jounin rank if he wasn’t mistaken. Obito supposedly was one of only two others with an unlocked Mangekyō, and he seemed perfectly fine to just let tears streak down his face in public.

Shisui liked him. He couldn’t help it.

He was younger than Obito by a few years, but they were the same height as he patted the crying boy on the shoulder. Iruka piped up next to him, leaning over his shoulder to get a better look at the other Uchiha. “He doesn’t look like he’s so scary. I thought Uchiha Obito was a Kage-level jounin.”

The gears in Iruka’s brain that made him such a great strategist were turning, visible from the outside as he studied the sniffling boy. Shisui sighed and shook his head. “Don’t underestimate people for being emotional, Ruka. That’s the same thing people do to us, you know,” he scolded, pulling his cousin against his side as if to shield him from the words.

Tora snuck around to look at the brunette that had come out of the ramen stand. “So, if this is Obito, you must be Nohara Rin, huh? You guys are part of the Hokage’s team, aren’t you? Kushina-sensei didn’t tell us how friendly you were,” she mused, sidling up to Rin and smiling her Uzumaki-bright smile.

Rin looked a little dazed from the force of the grin, her cheeks going a bit pink. Shisui saw her responding, but his attention was pulled back to Iruka as the brunette seemed to complete his assessment of the team and threw his arm around Shisui’s shoulder, turning them toward their sensei. Shisui’s grip on Obito turned him as well, but he didn’t seem to mind, smiling again.

“This is going to be a great trip, Kushina-sensei! We won’t be able to get into any trouble with Minato-sama’s own team here with us, right?” Iruka had a gleam in his eye that spoke of mischief and it made his stomach flutter to see. 

Maybe he’d been worried about this trip for nothing.

Kushina looked at them, then at Tora and Rin, then at the ANBU that were still standing toward the back of their group. Her eyes were sharp, searching, and she must have found whatever she was looking for because she nodded and turned to the Hokage. “Do you think your team will be okay with my troublemakers? We could take lunch back to your office.”

Minato’s smile was almost as bright as he nodded. “How much trouble could they get up to in a day?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo
> 
> This is literally just hijinks, I’m gonna warn you guys now lol
> 
> Also, lots of kissing. That’s basically this story. Boys. Kissing. And Shenanigans.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Tenzou was never doing this again.

He would refuse.

Minato couldn’t make him.

They were playing spin the bottle. What kind of game was that? It was a bad one.

It was the night before the first Chuunin Exam, the first night the Uzushio genin were spending in Konoha. The first night of what was shaping up to be the longest month in Tenzou’s life. 

The group of 16 year olds was playing spin the bottle with Minato’s team, everyone was at least a little drunk, and at some point Genma and Anko had sniffed them out. They brought along Itachi, Izumo, and Kotetsu, who were all trying for chuunin that year, saying that even little Itachi needed to cut loose before he took on a sometimes-deadly ordeal.

Tenzou and Kakashi were hidden in the shadowed corners of the room, unseen and very glad that they weren’t given away by any of the drunk kids that knew where they were. Tenzou was pretty sure that was Rin’s influence. He would thank her later.

They could still do their job of watching out for them without anyone knowing they were there.

Iruka had the idea to play spin the bottle. It was after their first bottle of sake was emptied, when he was whining that they needed more and clinging to Shisui like he could magically produce it. He’d stopped suddenly as he tipped the bottle over, staring at the loose circle of people that had been sharing the alcohol.

“Let’s play spin the bottle!” He declared, sitting up and removing himself from Shisui’s side. “We could die tomorrow! We should have fun tonight.” It was the same argument he’d used when convincing them that it was a good idea to get sake.

Anko had agreed with a cheer, leaning into the circle and pulling the bottle into the center of it. “That’s a great idea! I like you, you’ve got good ideas,” she complimented him with a sharp smile, all teeth, and Iruka shuddered visibly.

It was only smart to be scared of Anko. No one blamed him.

Genma pulled out two more bottles of sake, handing one to Izumo next to him and tossing the other across the circle to Rin. “We’re going to need more alcohol for this, then.”

Iruka looked offended. “You let me whine for 5 minutes about not having more alcohol when you had some all along?” His pout turned into a sly smile. “I’ll remember that later.”

Itachi passed the alcohol away from himself after taking a sip when Kotetsu handed it to him. He had taken exactly one drink from the last bottle, but his face was brightly flushed. The intolerance of youth. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” It was the most he’d spoken all night, and every head snapped around to look at him.

“Oi, what do you mean, little cousin? Spin the bottle is a great game! Just ask Rin, it’s how she-” Obito started and was cut off by a quick elbow to his gut. He went red as his teammate handed him the sake silently, eyes narrowed in warning.

Shisui snatched the bottle from him before he could drink it, though. “Itachi is too young for spin the bottle. He doesn’t need to kiss anyone yet, he’s like 13.” He almost seemed concerned about this, but Obito took the bottle back from him with a huff.

“He’s also stronger than all the other Clan members combined! Other than those of us with the Mangekyō, of course.” His eyes went red and black, shifting straight from normal to Mangekyō without passing through the normal Sharingan. It was impressive, but Shisui just stuck his tongue out and copied him. They both looked delighted just a second afterwards.

Weird, emotional Uchihas. How were they even in the same Clan as someone as detached as Itachi?

Rin and Iruka smacked the two show-offs at the same time, exchanging smiles as they ducked their heads in submission.

Anko got tired of it all, rolling her eyes and spinning the bottle quickly. “Come on you guys, we’re wasting time that we’re drunk and could be having more fun,” she complained as she waited for the bottle to finally still.

It landed on Izumo, who paled dramatically and was subsequently tackled by the giggling girl.

Genma laughed, finally getting a bottle of sake back when Anko shoved it at him, and he took his turn to spin the bottle while she mauled the younger genin. “That’s the spirit!” He cheered.

The bottle landed on Tora, who looked from it to him and then blushed as brightly as her hair. She stuttered something that was completely unintelligible, but Genma smirked and pulled the senbon from his teeth. When he leaned over her eyes widened, and she flushed even more, but she met him in the middle. Unlike Anko, he kept it under 30 seconds. She sat back next to him, leaving the space Anko had vacated as a buffer when she went.

Genma left it there as well, though he was giving her a considering look.

Iruka handed Tora the bottle of sake, patting her shoulder gently. “It’s okay, Tora, I’ll go next,” he offered, but she cut him off quickly.

“No! It’s my turn.” She seemed to have gotten her courage back and was shooting glances at Rin as she spun the bottle herself.

It landed between Rin and Obito. They looked at each other for a moment and Rin nodded at their silent conversation. She leaned fully over the circle, beckoning Tora in, and the Uzumaki actually went more red than her hair when their lips met. It was not chaste, and it took Iruka clearing his throat impatiently for them to pull back.

Both looked embarrassed but pleased. Genma looked delighted. Rin cleared her throat. “Obito is gay,” she said in explanation, patting him on the leg.

Iruka nodded like this made sense. “And so are you?” He asked as he spun the bottle, grinning when she looked away. “No worries. Tora likes both. I like boys. Shisui-” he cut off as the bottle stopped spinning and landed on said boy.

Shisui grinned. “I like all of the above!” He chirped quickly, laying a smacking kiss on his teammate’s cheek. “Except you guys. You’re like my siblings,” he clarified.

Iruka laughed and nodded. “Agreed.” He laid his own kiss on Shisui’s cheek, just a peck, and then the younger Uchiha was spinning the bottle as well.

The bottle landed between Itachi and Kotetsu, who glanced at each other, but beyond that was Tenzou’s shadowed corner of the room, and Shisui’s eyes landed on him, flashing back into the Sharingan. “Neko-san,” the younger boy addressed him directly, and the group that had arrived late jolted and turned to look at his corner.

Even Anko stopped kissing Izumo, pulling back and looking over curiously. “Neko? What do you mean?”

Tenzou stood perfectly still, maintaining his hiding place and camouflage jutsu. Itachi’s eyes also went red, and the younger boy looked a bit relieved. “It didn’t land on us. It landed on him. There’s an ANBU in the corner.” Everyone looked at him again, and his face went a bit more red. “That means he has to kiss him.”

Itachi had spoken more in that one minute than most people ever heard him speak before, and it took the focus off Tenzou for a few seconds, but then Shisui was across the room and in front of him, staring directly at him with a little smirk. It made Tenzou flinch, unaccustomed to anyone but Minato moving that fast, and that broke his cover.

Shisui’s breath smelled like sake, and Tenzou could feel the eyes of every other person in the room on him, but somehow looking into the now-dark eyes of the Uchiha made him more nervous than all of that. The boy was actually taller than him by an inch, and he cocked his head to the side, cheeks flushed and a lazy smile on his face. “Neko-san. Would you like a kiss?”

Tenzou froze, eyes wide behind his mask, and he didn’t even have a moment to respond before Shisui decided to take matters into his own hands. His smile turned sharp, and he leaned in to press his lips against Tenzou’s exposed throat, one of the few bits of skin he left uncovered.

It took all his self control not to shiver at the soft touch to his sensitive skin, especially when a tongue flicked out for just a moment over his pulse point. He hoped his heart wasn’t actually thundering as hard as he felt it was, but the smirk on the Uchiha’s face when he pulled back said that it probably was.

Shisui returned to his seat like he hadn’t ever moved, but everyone was still staring at Tenzou in the corner.

Damn this stupid game.

Obito burst out laughing, falling over against his cousin and wiping tears from his eyes as he shook with it. “Oh my god, you just kissed- you kissed T- I can’t handle this- K- Inu! Inu, please! Help your kohai before his brain fries!” He was laughing and gasping between words, fingers curled into Shisui’s shirt like he was trying to restrain the genin.

It was possible that he was. Tenzou wasn’t sure what to think anymore. Or if he could think, for that matter.

When had someone ever touched him like that? Never.

Kakashi materialized in his corner, drawing the eyes of the other teens present. Tenzou pulled his eyes off the Uchihas and over to his senpai, letting the sight of his mask and armor settle him. They were ANBU. They were on duty. He could have a breakdown about his lack of love life later.

Both of them melted back into the shadows, their camouflage flawless.

^~^

Iruka blinked at their guards, looking from one corner to the other. Uchiha Obito knew both of them, obviously. He was still having a fit, laughing and leaning on Shisui like they were brothers instead of cousins that had met for the first time earlier that day.

Shisui was comfortable, though, his smile wide and genuine. And Tora, despite being very red, also seemed to be rather comfortable. She was infatuated with Rin, though it was likely no one else could see it.

Perhaps Itachi could. He was gathering information on them, “letting his guard down” by drinking as little sake as he could while not being suspicious. Iruka wasn’t the strategist of their team for nothing, though. He saw it all.

He saw the way Genma kept the alcohol coming, the way Anko was brash and riled them up, the way Kotetsu and Izumo went along with all of this because their leader, Itachi, wanted to observe the competition. It was fascinating, honestly, and Iruka decided it was time to play a new game just as Obito reached for the bottle and spun it.

Well, maybe after this, anyway. The laughing Uchiha was interesting.

Obito grinned as the bottle spun, eyes flicking over to Inu’s corner several times in the time it took for it to spin to a stop. That was also interesting, but not nearly as much as the look of delight on his face when the bottle landed on Iruka.

“Oh, I get to kiss the troublemaker!” He cheered, leering at the corner of the room before leaning over his cousin and reaching toward Iruka.

He couldn’t help but grin back at him and laugh before he leaned in too, meeting in the middle. Which is to say, leaning directly over Shisui, who made a disgruntled noise and scooted out of the way.

Obito was a very enthusiastic kisser. It was a good quality. Iruka wasn’t a blusher like Tora, or a playful kisser like Shisui, and he responded just as readily, moaning loudly as his hair was pulled out of his ponytail and used as leverage to tip his head. It was Obito’s kiss, so he let the Uchiha lead, but that didn’t mean being passive.

Obito groaned as Iruka sucked on his tongue, and Shisui made a choked sound next to them, and then Iruka pulled back to laugh at the horrified face his teammate was making. He was breathing heavily, and he could feel his cheeks were flaming, but he still found himself grinning and patting his friend on the shoulder.

“Oh god, that was terrible. It was like watching my brother make out with my cousin,” Shisui whined, putting his head in his hands. 

Tora laughed, loud and light, and bumped Iruka’s shoulder from the other side. “I thought it was pretty hot,” she admitted, even with her face flushed brightly.

Rin punched Obito in the arm as he leaned back against her, sighing happily. “That was mean,” she hissed, but he just giggled at her.

Really. Giggled. It was cute.

“That was fun, I think you mean. I like that one, and I think Kashi would too,” he corrected her, getting another punch for his troubles, but it just made him laugh harder.

Iruka agreed, “that was fun,” and Shisui glared at him from between his fingers. He still didn’t take his head from his hands, just shaking it and staying further back from the circle.

Time for the game change! Itachi was also looking a bit green.

“We should play Never Have I Ever!”

Anko beat him to it. She really was trying to get more information out of them. At least it made the others around the circle perk up.

Iruka grinned and agreed quickly, “we should! We need cups for that, though. Any ideas?”

Of course, Genma has cups. They’d come prepared, after all.

The game was on. Time to see who had the best interrogation skills.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I hope you liked it! Let me know if you did, because I have more shenanigans planned out! And hangovers! And kissing!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I’m making shit up as I go! For the record: 
> 
> Team Minato is 20
> 
> Team Kushina is 16, and so is Tenzou.
> 
> They are all considered adults, but some people don’t like that sort of age gap, so... that’s my warning.
> 
> Enjoy the feelings and fluff and futureHokage!Obito!

Nothing comes earlier than a test day with a hangover.

It was worth it, right? Surely, Iruka had gotten something worthwhile out of last night? He’d brief them on the plan and what they needed to watch out for, right?

Tora groaned as curtains were flung open, and her sister cackled, much too loudly, at the sorry states of them. “Up, team! We have an hour till the first test, you know! On your feet!” She’s so loud. Why had they gotten so drunk again?

There was no god.

Iruka sat up next to her, blinking sleepily, and Shisui whined at the removal of his pillow, namely Iruka’s shoulder. He tried to move his head to her chest instead, but she shoved him off with a grumble.

He had embarrassed her in front of Rin, and she wasn’t going to forget that. All his innuendos. The asshole.

“Shisui-kun, you better move your ass,” Kushina sing-songed to the last teammate in bed. Tora would feel bad to see him being dragged up by his ear, but she was too busy desperately trying to brush the disgusting taste out of her mouth.

Iruka snorted, though, also brushing his teeth furiously, and Shisui joined them at the sink a moment later, his face in a scowl. “We have such a cruel sensei,” he complained, casting a dark look over his shoulder where Kushina was standing in the bathroom doorway and watching them with a grin.

“You love me. I love you. How can you say such hurtful things, Shisui-chan?” Oh god, she was babying them. This wasn’t going to end well.

Shisui went bright red, but he surprisingly didn’t rebuke her for the honorific like he normally would. “I’m sorry, sensei,” he mumbled instead, grabbing his toothbrush and ignoring the incredulous looks he got.

Iruka spat out his toothpaste to laugh, bumping shoulders with the other boy. “Awh, Shisui-chan is feeling sentimental this morning? Is it because you got to meet your cousins yesterday? Were they everything you hoped for? I know Obito was everything I-” An elbow connected with his stomach and cut him off, making him cough the last dregs of toothpaste onto their mirror.

Disgusting. Tora still laughed at his wounded look and Shisui’s vicious glare. “We know what you thought about Obito, Iruka. I bet Shisui is just savoring our dear Sensei’s affection before we blow this exam out of the water and aren’t her team anymore.”

An uncomfortable silence followed her words, much too telling about the truth of them. Iruka looked away, Shisui’s shoulders hunched, and Tora felt her stomach clench at the realization. Kushina sighed behind them, and then wrapped them all up in a hug. “You kids. Always worrying about things that won’t happen. You’ll still be my team even if you aren’t my genin, you know,” she chided them, dropping kisses on top of their heads before she let them go.

Tora swallowed the lump that appeared in her throat, bumping Shisui’s shoulder and knocking him into Iruka. “Stop being babies, guys. You know we’ll all be- like she said, we’re her kids. We live in her house,” she tried for cheerful. What she got was not. It did make both boys smile, though.

Iruka huffed. “We could always throw the exam,” he joked. Half-joked. His eyes were calculating.

Shisui laughed, though, rolling his eyes. “Like she’d believe that. We’ll just end up with a field promotion.”

The tension eased, and Kushina laughed with them, ruffling their hair, much to Iruka’s chagrin. They went back to brushing their teeth, more sober and awake, and Tora wasn’t quite sure if her stomach was upset because of her hangover or because of the conversation.

Either way, they were hungover and they had the first test of their Chuunin Exams in less than an hour. Iruka talked their ears off for the rest of that time as they got ready. They would be prepared for anything.

^~^

Kakashi patted Tenzou’s shoulder reassuringly as they took up their post outside the hotel that housed their Uzushio guests.

How someone in an ANBU mask could look dejected was beyond him, but Kakashi would swear he was pouting behind the mask. Maybe it was the slump to his shoulders. “Minato said no to a reassignment, huh?” He guessed, fully aware of his freak-out the night before. He hadn’t ever seen Tenzou flush, but seeing his exposed neck turn red when that Uchiha kissed it…

He was probably being mean, but he fully intended to push Tenzou’s buttons. That had been too funny. The brunette just groaned and shook his head in answer. “Of course not. He hates me, Inu. You should have heard him and the Uzukage laugh as I gave our report.” His mask turned, and those brown eyes narrowed behind the eyeholes. “Thanks for making me do that, by the way. Just because you wanted to go jump your pervert boyfriend,” he grumbled.

Kakashi chuckled, shrugging. “He was teasing me all night, Neko.” He grinned, remembering the way Obito kissed Umino. “If you saw that Uchiha making out with your boyfriend-”

Tenzou made a strangled sound, “No. We aren’t talking about it. Obito or the other Uchiha. And- you know I don’t have a boyfriend. I’m too busy for that.”

It was the same argument as always, but Kakashi noticed that it wasn’t quite as strong as usual. He tucked the thought away for later. “Too busy. Right. That’s what you always say.”

Tenzou must have noticed his tone because he leveled a glare at him, or as much of one as could be given through his mask. “No plotting. Stop that. I’ll tell dad you’re picking on me again,” he threatened.

Kakashi blanched. “You wouldn’t.”

Tenzou bluffed. “Do you want to test that?”

He didn’t. Ever since Root was… well, uprooted, Sakumo had taken Tenzou in. It had only been a couple of years, but he was fiercely protective. Last time… Kakashi really didn’t want to think of how humiliating it was to be spanked by his dad at the age of 19.

“You like him, though. You can admit it. You’re around the same age. It’s been two years-” Kakashi tried, but he stopped when Tenzou flinched. Still too soon.

“They’re awake,” the younger boy said, changing the subject. It may as well have been a slap in the face. Kakashi could admit when he fucked up, and he let it go for now.

Maybe later.

“Right. Uzukage-sama opened the curtains. I’ll watch them, you watch their surroundings.” It was the opposite order from the night before, and Kakashi could feel Tenzou frowning at him.

“Don’t use this as an opportunity to be a pervert, Inu,” he warned, and Kakashi chuckled as he watched through the window while the teens got ready for their day.

“I wouldn’t dream of it, Neko. You surprise me, was that where your mind went?” He teased. The creeping blush down the brunette’s neck was rewarding.

“No! I know you. You’re interested in Umino. Stay professional. He’s our mission.” His tone was as close to pleading as Tenzou ever got, which was pretty far from it if you didn’t know him. Kakashi did.

He kept teasing. “He would be very safe sandwiched between Obito and myself,” he hummed.

Tenzou let out a distressed groan and his flush deepened. “I don’t need that image. I don’t need any more images. Stop talking.”

“Bossy. I’m your captain, you know,” Kakashi huffed.

He could feel the eye roll. “Stop talking, Taicho.”

Smart ass.

He relented, because the Uzukage and her team exited the building. It really was time to get to work, they would be following undetected for the day.

He could think about using that pretty blue ribbon that held up Umino’s hair as bondage material later.

^~^

Obito walked with Itachi to meet the rest of their team at the entrance to the exam building, arriving exactly half an hour early. They were only on time because Itachi insisted on it, but it was his exam after all. Obito couldn’t complain about the little old ladies that someone else would have to help in his absence.

Kotetsu and Izumo were waiting when they got there, ever diligent in their dedication to teamwork, and Obito looked at his little students with sharp eyes as he lined them up carefully.

“Weapons?” He prompted.

Izumo answered. “Cleaned, sharpened, accounted for.”

“Medical kit?”

Kotetsu nodded. “Fully stocked.”

“Shelter and rations?”

Itachi tipped his head once. “Sealed and distributed.”

“What is the most important rule of being a shinobi?” He asked, watching their lips twitch in an attempt not to smile.

Itachi answered again, black eyes shining with his amusement. “Those who abandon the mission are scum. Those who abandon their teammates are worse than scum.”

Obito broke into a grin, and the genin mirrored it, though Itachi’s was actually more of an upward tilt of his lips. They were working on it.

“You’re ready for this,” he sighed, looking at the exam building.

Of course, he knew what the first test would be. Inoichi and Shikaku were proctoring it. His team would ace it, and he was fully prepared to be assigned a new team come January. There was no way they wouldn’t make chuunin.

The thought of sending them in there still made his eyes itch, and he rubbed the tears away as all three of them laughed (Itachi made some kind of amused huff, but it counted).

“Oi, stop that nonsense!” He growled, trying to scowl past his tears. “Get in there! I’ll see you after your second exam!”

He shooed them away, watched them enter the building, and slouched against the side of it. He was three sighs in when the Uzukage and her genin arrived, all tangled with each other in some way. 

Shisui was in the middle again, and no one could miss the protective way the other two hung onto his hand or wrapped an arm around his shoulder or waist. They were a team that clearly knew each other, inside and out, though apparently only on platonic terms, if the chatter yesterday was anything to go by. He wondered at that, watching the way they communicated without words, and it reminded him of his own team of genin, of Team Minato, especially as Kushina wrapped them all in a hug and ruffled their hair affectionately.

They were a family, just like his team was.

It was fascinating, and he pushed off the wall with a grin on his face as he approached the Uzukage. The genin were halfway to the door already, and he noticed Iruka threw a glance over his shoulder, whispering to Shisui, but they continued on.

That left him with one Uzumaki Kushina, the Uzukage herself.

“Your team seems chipper this morning, Uzukage-sama!” He chirped, sidling you’re to her and returning her smile with one just as bright.

She laughed, and the sound sparkled. “I heard about you and your team’s interesting interrogation tactic, Obito-kun. It’s not surprising that you think that mellow mood was chipper.”

That was a mellow mood? Did her team actually pick up on the fact that the other genin team was his? Or was that something she heard from Sensei?

He laughed right back. “We’ve been caught, hm? Can you blame them for wanting to scout out the competition? Your team is going to be the only real threat to their complete victory.”

Her smile was sharp, full of teeth, and very amused. “It was very nice of them to save my team the trouble of finding them,” she purred.

Ah, yes, this was very much the Uzukage and vessel of the Kyuubi.

Obito would be the next Hokage, though, and that wasn’t for nothing.

“Of course, Uzukage-sama. It was my pleasure to entertain them.” He bowed, properly, a show of deference, and her laughter rang through the air again, like bells of glass.

“Obito-kun, I think you can call me Kushina,” she decided, and when he looked up she was smiling a very approving smile.

What had been done to earn her favor? Was it because of her affection for Minato-sensei? Because of this conversation? Because of whatever her team told her about the night before?

“Thank you, Kushina-sama. Are you joining the jounin-senseis in the observation room?” He gestured to one of the nearby buildings, where he knew there were snacks and couches and screens just waiting for the senseis to pile in with their cigarettes and sake and bets.

She shook her head, though, and he wasn’t at all surprised. “I’m confident in them, you know. I’ll be getting my report as soon as they’re finished, but I have paperwork that needs finishing.”

That was code for her and Sensei would be fucking in his office, and he couldn’t stop himself from making a face at the thought. She just laughed it off, though, and gave a small wave before she disappeared in a swirl of water, the Uzushio shunshin.

Obito noticed the two ANBU hovering at the edge of the tree line as soon as her massive chakra signature stopped blocking everything else out.

He grinned as he recognized Kakashi and Tenzou easily, flashing hand signs that would convey his plans for the morning, before disappearing into the observation room. He had bets to place and cigarettes to bum while Kakashi couldn’t stop him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said everyone lives, damn it, and that means Kakashi gets to have a dad, who doesn’t take kindly to Danzō trying to have his son assassinated!
> 
> So. Danzō doesn’t live. And Tenzou gets a dad too!

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know if you like it!
> 
> I am addicted to comments. Give me one and I will love you forever.


End file.
